The Australian train system is very efficient. The trains are also very clean. Lately, due to Covid, there aren't as many passengers as usual. Riders buy an Opal card and load money on it. Then whenever you use it, you "tap on" at a little device that records your fare and how much you have left before you top it up. You can also tap directly with your credit card for contactless payment if you have the symbol on your card. Hornsby is a larger town so it is has a number of trains passing through the smaller villages on the way to Hornsby. It's also a very popular stop because it's right across from Westfield shopping mall and the Hornsby outdoor mall. I have been getting on the train at Lindfield since it's about a 10 minute walk from my bnb. It's fun to look at all the interesting village names: Turramurra, Warrawee, and Waroonga for example. I enjoy riding the train because it gets me where I want to go so no driving is needed. read more

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A part of me considers Hornsby to basically be out on the far edges of Sydney, but it doesn't feel like it when you arrive at the station because it looks like, and in a way is, one of those major interchange stations. Actually, being next to a major shopping centre also helps. Yeah, this station is quite accessible and has quite a few facilities as well, and certainly makes you feel like you are in the suburbs. read more

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Nothing flash about this place. I don't believe it has been that many years since work has been done but for a major station is does look a bit tired and access to other platforms rather limited. It does the job and has close access to Hornsby and Westfield shopping etc. read more

Always busy, lots of people change trains here. The upgrade is still looking good and there is plenty of room to move. A good shop at the top of the stairs with great coffee and hot snacks... especially on that bitterly cold morning. read more

This station is a bit divey for its surrounds. Trains take for frickin ever to arrive. NSW transit, wtf? I don't come to your station without a fresh coat of makeup on my face and at least half decent clothes on my body so why don't you spruce your stations up with some fresh paint? A friend argued that this is "vintage." I strongly disagree. Parts of central are vintage, a la a bespectacled dapper grandpa or hipster. Hornsby Station is wearing wearing holey, dated sweatpants with food stains amidst a smart casual environment. Boo. read more

Hornsby. Mecca of the upper North Shore. With the advent of Meriton apartments multiplying like nobody's business, necessity being the mother of invention, dictated that Hornsby Station would need additional platforms. It has to cater to the new Epping-Macquarie line, and also the masses that now throng to catch the Central Coast Blue Geese (as Hornsby is the gateway to their patch o' dirt). The problem with Hornsby is that the lick of paint, hasn't changed what is essentially the same train station that existed in my school and uni days (talking a decade or 2 here). They are currently upgrading certain facilities and it couldn't come sooner, however there always appears to be some sort of delay, shutdown or "out of order" at the station. I'm there regularly but not daily, and everytime I am there, something isn't working as intended. It's almost like they just accept that it won't be fully operational... ever. The toilets on Platform 4, look like they were installed in the 60s and haven't been cleaned since. There is always the acrid acidic smell assaulting the nostrils upon entry and it ensures a swift visit. If you need to conduct business there is toilets at the top of the stairs in front of Platform 1. These are nicer, though they are generally "being cleaned" , closed, or occupied so you have to get lucky to use em. Overall the station serves its ultimate purpose, shuttling large volumes of commuters to anywhere but Hornsby, whilst receiving a mass dosage of inbounds in return. It'd be nice though if Hornsby would catch up with the times as it seems that only the RSL and the shopping centre are operating in the modern world. Everything else, station included, is behind the times. read more

Hornsby station. Trains arrive. Trains leave. Sometimes I'm on one of them. They are in the process of tarting the old girl up a bit. Slapping some lipstick on the pig as it were. It will look as shabby as ever a few weeks after they finish (as all places that handle large crowds inevitably do) but I suppose they have to put in the effort and it keeps people employed.. But... it gets the job done. Its not too crowded. Its not overrun with muggers. Not covered in graffiti. As far as train stations go, that puts it right up there in first class. The big advantage of Hornsby station of course (for those in the know) is that being the place where most north shore line services start, you are pretty much guaranteed a seat even in the busiest of peaks. Unless you catch one of the central coast or Newcastle trains. Those are always packed. read more

The outer suburb of Hornsby is located 22 km north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is both a commercial and residential area. Hornsby railway station is a major station at the junction between the North Shore (along the coast) and the Northern (inland) railway lines of the CityRail network in Sydney. The station consists of 5 platforms accessed through an overhead concourse at the southern end. The station is the terminus point for most Northern line services. An Easy Access station. Per Wikipedia, Hornsby station opened in 1886 as Hornsby, but was renamed Hornsby Junction in 1894. This was due to the construction of Normanhurst Station to the south, which was initially named Hornsby as it was located in what was the more densely populated area of Hornsby at the time. Naming the station Hornsby Junction was an attempt to avoid confusion, but it was realised that having two Hornsby Stations was still very confusing. [Take note Jamaica, New York, which screwed me up one time on the way from NYC to JFK airport]. In 1900, the suburb and station to the south was renamed Normanhurst, and Hornsby Junction reverted to Hornsby which it is still called. We would get the train here from Meadowbank to do killer bushwalks at the Kuring-gai Chase National Park, Australia's second-oldest national park. Very cool. read more